However, grahams edition only contains the first four books of the work. Project gutenberg offers 61,951 free ebooks to download. Theory was beginning to drift in this direction until the facts of the last war clausewitz alludes here to the wars of liberation, 18,14,15. Princeton university press, 1984, particularly if you are using this book for your scholarly or research work. One of clausewitzs better known quotes summarizes this idea. On war has become one of the most respected classics on military strategy. In whole or in part, it remains required reading in americas senior military schools, as well as in many civilian strategic studies programs and, increasingly, in business. He coined the famous or infamous depending on how you see it war is the continuation of politics by another means. A classic work on military strategy by a veteran of the napoleonic wars. Chapter summary for carl clausewitzs on war, book 1 chapter 1 summary.
Clausewitz on war book 3 summary, chapter summary for carl clausewitz s on war, book 3 chapters 1 2 summary. Since the works first appearance in 1832, it has been read throughout the world, and has stimulated generations of soldiers, statesmen, and intellectuals. He served in the campaigns of 179394 on the rhine, after which he seems to have devoted some time to the study of the scientific branches of his profession. Clausewitz had been stunned by how totally napoleon had dominated europe and how he had appeared to change the. By comparing this theoretical version of war with reality, clausewitz aims to identify how and why these two types of war di. He was a prussian war strategist who lived in the late 18th and early 19th century. The elements in this chapter are presented in numbered sections, as follows. After more than a century and a half, clausewitzs work remains the most comprehensive, perceptive, and modern contribution to politicalmilitary and strategic thought. The 197684 howardparet version is the standard translation today. The sum of these difficulties which are many is friction, which is the resistance of many factors in the world to the plans of a military leader. Everything is simple in war, but the simplest thing is difficult. He is most famous for his military treatise vom kriege, translated into english as on war. Hij is befaamd van het standaardwerk vom kriege waarin hij stelt, dat oorlog politiek bedrijven is met andere middelen. Read by timothy ferguson with linda ferguson in section 2.
In his book vom kriege on war the expression is explained. Clausewitz has served in the rhine campaign 17931794, when the prussian army invaded france during the french revolution and in the napoleonic wars. War is merely a wrestling match on an extensive scale, an act of violence intended to compel our opponent to fulfil our will. Feb 26, 2006 free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg.
He was commissioned to take part in the campaigns of the first coalition against revolutionary france. It has been translated into english several times as on war. Tactically, defense is the stronger form of war with a weakeror negativeobject. His most notable work, vom kriege on war, was unfinished at his death. Grahams translation of the original work is adequate. If war is an act of force, it belongs necessarily also to the feelings. It argues that clausewitz abandoned the idea of absolute war which appears almost exclusively in the first half of book viii of on war, that ideal war is a distinctly new departure in book 1, and that clausewitz did relatively little further work to the manuscript of vom kriege after drafting the note of 1827. His magnus opus on war is used by military historians, strategists, and politicians to this day. Stated precisely, the defensive form of warfare is intrinsically stronger than the offense 353. Indextags are found on the bottom of the left column.
Graham 1808 1883 a classic work on military strategy by a veteran of the napoleonic wars. Graham translation of clausewitz s vom kriege 1832 published in london in 1873. We propose to consider first the single elements of our. War in its literal meaning is fighting, for fighting alone. Clausewitz defines the single elements of his subject and thus to advance from the simple to the complex while outlining the shape of the whole that is, war war is defined as an act of violence to compel our opponent to fulfil our will. Chicago boyz blog archive clausewitz, on war, book 1. This book is a classic and a must for every one interested in military history and history in general. Clausewitz defines the single elements of his subject and thus to advance from the simple to the complex while outlining the shape of the whole that is, war. War is a continuation of politics by different means. Less commonly appreciated is the nature of the approach he adopted which enabled him to arrive at his central. On war vom kriege is one of the great works of military strategy and theory in history, standing among such great works as the art of war. Attack is the weaker form of war with a positive object. Consider the more modern versions and other relevant books shown below.
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